There was a time long ago (2-3 years ago) when I did not like the taste of a good old fashioned . Let’s call that time in my life BOF (Before Old Fashioned). I recall ordering one or two at bars and not really liking them. Then one January a few years ago on our anniversary M and I went to Jean George’s. I remember the night because I got there early or on time. M and I were both coming from work so we did not travel together. Side note the subway was messed up and M does not give herself any leeway in travel time. Those factors and the fact that I generally am too early to things added up to me waiting about 20 to 30 minutes before M joined me.
While I was waiting at the bar I figured I was at a three-star Michelin rated restaurant so I assumed they can make pretty good cocktails. Up until that point I have had bad luck with old fashioned’s. They just didn’t taste quite right to me. I did want to give it a few tries before I made my decision on if I like them or not. So I ordered one and drank it while waiting for M. The verdict was I still did not like it. At the time that last bad experience settled the drinks fate. It was off my list of things I would drink. Or was it?
Flash forward a few years and I tried one again. My memory is fuzzy on the circumstances. I think it was we were at M’s friend Joe’s in Maine. The prior year he made me a fantastic Manhattan. So much so that I started making them myself the way he did it. Wow those are strong but yummy.. The next time we saw him I believe he made an old-fashioned. When he made it for me it was really good and I enjoyed it. So much so that when I was out with friends from work I started trying to order them again. It was still hit and miss in the beginning but after that I got really into them.
I started mixing them at home. The old fashioned are more complex and time-consuming to make than my favorite sidecar. I made them anyway. The first time I ran out of the ingredients to make the old-fashioned I forgot what it was that I originally had bought. I turned to the Internet to see what good bourbon to use for the drink. I found a couple of review sites that talked about the best bourbons to use in the drink. I then took the two top suggestions and went to the local liquor store to see if they had them. They had both options however for some reason I said I’m gonna buy the second best one. I can’t remember why. I think the description better suited me.. It wasn’t like one was that much better than the other. They just had different reasons for liking one over the other. And that’s how I started mixing drinks with the Four Roses.
When I would be out and ordering an old-fashioned at a bar some of the better places would ask what I wanted it made with. It used to be I never knew a good answer for that. Then I started asking what the suggested options were. That’s when I realized I had picked a delicious choice because many of the places I went to with good bars would have the four roses as a choice. After a while when asked what I wanted the drink made with I would specifically ask for that. Then every so often i would get a “good choice” reply. It was nice that something i liked made me sound like i knew what i was talking about. I really do not know what I am talking about.
Somewhere along the way in my old-fashioned drinking experience I was introduced to the maple old-fashioned. It was super delicious. It basically replaces the simple syrup, sugar, and water of a regular old-fashioned and replaces it with maple syrup. It was a simple Google search or in my case duck duck go search and I had the ingredients and how to make the drink. It was significantly easier to prepare and almost more delicious.
I thought I found a new goto drink that i could make at home. Side Cars are good and easier than a regular old fashioned however if i do it the way i like it with the sugar on the glass it gets messy and takes a little longer. To have an easier option would be great. I made a few of the maple old fashioned at home. In the same general time frame I was waking up with migraines now and again. That’s rare for me. I was curious what the trigger was. After a little while I thought the trigger might have been the Maple old-fashioned. It is a lot of sugar. Some foods can be trigger so I got really scared. Migraines are not something I mess around with so that stopped my buying or mixing this cocktail cold.
That didn’t stop me from making or buying regular old-fashioned. I just make them less often since they are a pain to do. When we got to to London I didn’t have the same ingredients to make the original ones I liked the cube sugar that M had bought so I at the time thought stupidly to roll the dice and had M get some maple syrup. After the first attempt i was ok. So i tried them again. I was still ok. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I could drink them and be okay. No trigger made me very happy so I was back on making these delicious beverages.
This brings me to what inspired me to write what turned into this very long post. I had a finite supply of Four Roses. A big positive of London vs New York is you can go anywhere and get liquor. The local market we use has. Getting a good selection of higher end liquor is more of a challenge. Some suggestions given to me did not pan out. I turned to Amazon almost just to check for funzies. Turned out they had what i wanted. Amazon had a decent selection so I not only got the Four Roses I wanted I now have a new goto place to order any nicer stuff i may want to buy.
Next up for me is finding a new cocktail to master.
